Fiscal Discipline
Congress has to do more with less and that means finding ways to cut government spending. The federal government must live within its means. We cannot be all things to all people.
· Federal Budget. Over the past 12 years annual federal spending has more than doubled, exceeding $3.1 trillion. If deficit spending were the way to prosperity, our economy would be booming. It is not the government’s money we talk about and spend, it is the American people’s money. This is unacceptable and unsustainable. We cannot afford to continue to run this government on a credit card. I am committed to dramatically reduce the size and scope of the federal budget.
· Earmarks. Revamping the earmarking process is a top priority. I will not ask for an earmark until the process is open, transparent and reformed. I am seeking to raise the bar by increasing transparency, openness, accountability, and requiring better justification for spending precious federal dollars. We can’t afford to fund every worthy project that comes to our attention. At the same time, I recognize that there is a proper role for the federal government in providing funding for certain types of projects. I have established a criteria and a process for securing funding for those projects that have a federal nexus while eliminating projects that don’t meet the criteria.
· Federal Bureaucracy. I believe the federal government has expanded far beyond its proper role. I continually seek to repeal unnecessary and ineffective programs and departments.
Below are some of many bills that I have sponsored or co-sponsored that reflect my commitment to Fiscal Discipline
H Res 1221 – To increase openness and transparency in the earmark/appropriations process
HR 5919 – To grant USPS Postmaster General the authority to implement up to twelve “postal holidays” per year in order to reduce USPS operating costs
HR 5865 – To prohibit the National Historic Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC) from funding non-federal projects
HR 2914 - To eliminate the federal subsidy for Mohair
HR 2915 - To eliminate the subsidy to the International Fund for Ireland
HR 4640 - Eliminating mandatory printing of bills for use in the House and Senate
HR 4683 - Scrap the MAP Act
HR 4717 - Audit Equal Access to Justice Act of 1995
HJ Res 1 - Balanced budget amendment
HR 1023 - Federal Agency Program Realignment and Closure
HR 470 - Economic Recovery and Middle-Class Tax Relief Act
HR 687 - Highway Trust Fund Reform Act
HR 664 - Economic Stimulus Enhancement and Tax Relief Permanency Act
HR 1277 - Welfare Reform Restoration Act
H Res 1289 - A total ban on earmarks for one year
HR 1294 - Congressional Accountability and Line-Item Veto
HR 2169 - Limitation on Government Spending Act
H Con Res 281 - Revising the appropriate budgetary levels for FY 2010, and establishing the appropriate budgetary levels for FY 2011 through 2020
HR 2842 - To rescind all funds that remain unobligated
HR 3140 - Reducing Barack Obama’s Unsustainable Deficit Act
H Con Res 201 - To establish the Joint Committee on Earmark Reform
H Res 949 - Requiring a two-thirds vote to increase the statutory limit on public debt
HR 3571 - Defund ACORN Act
HR 3696 - Prohibiting TARP recipients from funding ACORN
HR 4110 - TARP Sunset Act
HR 5258 - Earmark Transparency Act of 2010
HR 5299 - European Bailout Protection Act
HR 5319 - Foreign-Held Debt Transparency and Threat Assessment Act
Bills listed in bold were sponsored by Jason Chaffetz. All others were co-sponsored.
*Bill passed the House as an amendment to another bill
^Bills signed into law in which Jason Chaffetz was the sponsor or an important cosponsor
